ISDA Membership Benefits
Who We Are
ISDAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission is to provide and support an international forum of protective services
providers who share knowledge for the ultimate purpose of enhancing professional and business standards. ISDA serves the protective services community with an emphasis on secure transportation and
security driving.
Our members are security practitioners who supply protective services to corporate executives, highnet-worth individuals, military personnel, and law enforcement agents and officers.
Who We Are Not
ISDA does not train or supply drivers, EP agents, or secure transportation services. We do not promise
jobs. Neither we nor anyone else has a silver bullet to help gain employment. It is up to each individual
to prepare themselves. ISDA supplies the tools to accomplish that goal.
What We Provide
Our association offers Basic and Certified memberships. Basic membership requires no pre-qualifications. ISDA-certified membership requires the completion of a certification process. The process
follows guidelines defined by credentialing organizations and standards that are recognized in all other

industries. The certification has been recognized by the corporate
community for 40 years. We provide unbiased information to members and offer a platform for them to share their knowledge and
express their opinions.
We Seek Clarity
ISDA seeks clarity and transparency in the protective services profession. Social media have twisted the security driving and executive protection professions into marketing terms with no regard for
their defining skill sets.
ISDA Brings Clarity to the Market
With a proven 40-year track record, ISDA will leverage its professional experience and knowledge of social media to get that message of clarity to the market. ISDA founder Tony Scotti has thrived
in the profession and created the most enviable client list in the
industry without advertising.

ISDAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s message will be
heard via the most
powerful marketing tool
available:
WORD-OF-MOUTH.

Our goal is to help
members succeed
through education and
a precedent
setting networking,
mentorship and
marketing program

ISDA Membership Benefits
For $75 a year, ISDA provides its members precedent-setting educational,
mentorship, networking, and
marketing programs and
opportunities.
ISDA has created a platform
for members to use the most
powerful and proven marketing tool available - word-ofmouth. Members can market
their skills and services to
more than 20,000 security
practitioners.

Networking Benefits
Successful networking requires
finding those whom you need,
to get what you need. ISDA
encourages members who have
achieved their goals to help
others do the same. The association is the catalyst for those
who need assistance and finding
those you can help.

Marketing Benefits
Market the Profession/Clarity
ISDA has created a white paper
explaining the benefits of security driving, secure transportation, and personal protection.
The objective is to get the paper
into the hands of the high-end
security and human resources
market.
Market the members
We welcome members and
non-members to write for Security Driver Magazine (SDM)
as a networking and marketing
opportunity. Your article must
be relevant to the protective
services community and not be
overtly promotional.

Educational Benefits

Mentorship Program

The Resource Center provides
a constant learning environment
for ISDA members, with subjects
specifically designed to increase
knowledge and marketability.
The center is the gateway to the
largest collection of educational
resources for secure-transportation and protection professionals. New information is added
to the center frequently and
disseminated via blog posts,
recorded webinars, videos, and
white papers.

The impetus for the mentorship program is the state of the
profession. For many, finding
a career path is the most difficult task they face. There are
no guarantees for success, but
there is a path to success. ISDA
acts as the conduit between
ISDA members with experience
(ISDA Certified members) and
those who are seeking guidance
and advice.

THE FACTS
The market addresses the
incidents that have the highest probability of occurrence.
For decades statistics have
indicated the overwhelming
majority of security incidents
involving corporate executives
and high-profile individuals,
including government and
military, have occurred while
the targeted individual was in
or around their vehicle.
The safety and security of the
vehicle occupants during this
most dangerous period of time
has been and is the responsibility of the security driver - the
market knows that.

The ISDA Separation - The Constant Learner
The most common commodity in this country
is unrealized potential - Calvin Coolidge
You can spend more time on
training that does nothing to
increase your potential - or you
could spend your time learning
how to release your potential.
Unless you can get your potential to the market place, all it is
- is potential.

ISDA is an Association
designed to release your
potential.

We are in a time when there are more EP/bodyguards/security drivers in the marketplace than there is a market for their services. To differentiate himself, a professional
must become a constant learner.
A constant learner isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t defined by a training curriculum. Rather, that person is
marked by a perpetual curiosity, a demand to ask and understand, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Why am I doing
this? Why is this significant?â&#x20AC;? They feel the need to acquire additional skills and to meet
and exceed what is expected from them.
The International Security Driver Association helps its members become constant
learners by opening the door to their curiosity.

Why ISDA
It is time for those that work in
the industry to be recognized for
their contribution and accomplishments they have made to
the safety and security of those
they serve and to the profession.
The present EP/Bodyguard/
Close Protection training doctrine suggests that Security Driving is a secondary skill, many
times described as an “add on”,
or training you “may” want to
consider after you have been to
an EP training program.
Those suggestions are false.

Consider the following:
• We can all agree the objective of personal security is to
mitigate risk
• Those responsible for the security of others address the
incidents that have the highest probability of occurrence
• The overwhelming majority
of security incidents against
the principal have occurred
while the individual was in or
around their vehicle
• Vehicle accidents are the
number four killer of people
• The job market seeks those
with a skillset that mitigates
that risk

The fact is the training
community, does not
determine the skillsets
necessary to mitigate risk,
employment or their order
of importance; it is the job
market that decides the skill
sets required.
The job market requires
practitioners with a level of
experience and that have been
tested and measured to an
objective standard.

How to Join ISDA
Membership Requirements
There are no membership requirements to join, although we do recommend experience as a security
driver, executive protection specialist or a security transportation provider to get the most out of the
membership.
The cost of membership is $75.00 per year.
How to Apply for Membership
Go to isdacenter.org/membership
Click one of the payment buttons to purchase your membership (PayPal or Credit Card).
Note: Upon completion of payment you will be redirected to complete a registration form to create a
username and password to gain access to the resources available to you as an ISDA member.
If you have any questions please reach out to the ISDA Team at info@isdacenter.org.

ISDA Certification
Most of the training offered in
the industry is not for certification, it is training for a certificate.
Although a training certificate is
valuable, it is not a certification
as defined by the credentialing
organizations that are the standards in all other professions.
The simple fact is that the
training community does not
set the criteria for certification.
The quality and legitimacy of the
certification is determined by the
standards used to govern the
program. For a certification to
be recognized by the market it
serves, requires a combination

of experience, and a certification
process that ensures an individual has been tested and measured to an objective standard.
ISDA offers to its members that
are eligible, certification in Security Driving and Secure Transportation. ISDA is not like other
associations - we do not offer
training leading to a certification.
To qualify for Certification requires a test of knowledge and
verification of skill combined
with a minimum of two years of
continuous experience in the
profession.

The Certification Process is voluntary. Practitioners can become
an ISDA member and elect NOT
to qualify for Certification.

The ISDA Certification is not
for everyone; applicants
must qualify for
certification.
The ISDA certification
cannot be purchased; it must
be earned.

Certification Benefits
As an ISDA Certified Member
you join an elite group of security professionals; a group the
job market considers to be the
best in their profession. Due to
Certified member position in the
market their professional needs
are different than others. The
ISDA Certification Center will
meet those needs.
Mission
To increase corporate and private sector awareness of the value and effectiveness of Security
Drivers and Secure Transportation providers specifically those
professionals that are experienced and have been trained to
an objective standard.

Benefits
ISDA will promote the economic
and general welfare of the Certified Members in the workplace.
Recognition of those with longevity in the industry and those
who have been trained and tested to an objective standard.
ISDA will produce a database of
Certified Members. The demographics will be made available
to the business community and
be used to promote the industry. The data will also be made
available to the membership and
participation in the database is
voluntary.
The Association will be a com-

munity for members to exchange
ideas, solve common problems
and interface with others in the
industry.
ISDA offers:
• White Papers written specially and only available to
certified members.
• Webinars and educational
material specifically designed
to meet the needs of the Certified members.
• Opportunities for certified
members to write articles
for publication in the ISDA
Resource Center and in The
ISDA Journal (Security Driver
Magazine).
• Use of the ISDA logo on
websites and resumes.

Certification Process
Certification Requirements
• Must be an ISDA Member
• Must have at least 2 years
continuous experience as a
security driver or an executive protection professional.
• Have attended a protective
driving training program*
• Must have at least CPR,
First Responder, and AED
training

Step 1

Step 2

Verification of Experience

Advisory Board Notification

A candidate who meets the
requirements must complete the
online verification of experience
form answering all questions
accurately and honestly.
Once submitted the candidate’s
information, experience and
driving training will be reviewed
thoroughly by the Certification
Advisory Board.

If you have met the experience,
medical training and driving skill
requirements, you will receive
an email notification from the
Advisory Board that you have
been approved and instructions
to proceed to Step Three: The
Knowledge Test.
If you are not approved the
board will inform the candidate
of the reason(s).

Mail in Your Experience Form

Step 3
Knowledge Test
In order to complete this step
you will need to purchase the
Knowledge Test Kit from the
ISDA Store. This Kit contains the
ISD Certification Study Guide,
and the Professional Drivng
Techniques book that will
prepare you for the Knowledge
Test.

An alternative to completing the experience form online:
Print and mail the completed form and copies of the necessary
documents to: 43 Riverside Ave. Suite 418, Medford MA 02155.

* Vehicle Dynamics Institute
A VDI Graduate with two years of experience, has completed two of
the certification requirements, experience and verification of skill. To
complete the certification process, they need to take the knowledge
test and provide documentation of Red Cross
first aid, CPR, and AED training.
Why VDI?
VDI provides ISDA with computer-generated
documentation verifying a studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skill has
been objectively tested and measures. The
VDI test methodologies comply with ISDA
standards set by the Society of Automotive Engineers, ISO, NHTSA,
and prestigious universities.

These objective standards are
essential for certification. The
laws of science dictate that in a
vehicle emergency the difference
between success and failure is
measured in tenths of seconds,
and/or an increase or decrease in
steering angle of a couple of degrees, and/or a speed differential
of 2 miles per hour.

move a principal from point A to
point B in a safe and secure manner in a variety of environments.
Although it is not a science, ISDA
uses standard practices that have
been developed over a 40 year
span to define required Secure
Transportation Skills. These skills
include an in-depth knowledge
and a measured level of skill to
conduct route surveys; recognize
and develop safe havens, alternate route plans, and develop
emergency evacuation plans,
along with emergency medical
and surveillance detection skills.

Security Skills Standard

Medical Skills Standard

Security Driving and Secure
Transportation is more than the
act of driving the vehicle. It requires the skill and knowledge to

Standards set by the Red Cross
in basic medical training such as
CPR, AED, and first responder
first aid training.

ISDA Certification Standards
Derivation of ISDA Methodology
The ISDA Driving Skill Certification Standards are derived from
decades of research conducted
by the Society of Automotive
Engineers, ISO, and NHTSA. Their
research has created an understanding of how drivers make decisions in emergencies and how
long it takes them to make those
decisions. These organizations
have created minimum standards
based on the Laws of Physics for
measuring driving skill and therefore survivability in an emergency
scenario. It is these scientific
standards that are used in the
ISDA Certification Process.